A large box addressed to me showed up on our doorstep a few days before Christmas. I wasn’t expecting anything. Curious, I slit the packing tape, opened the flaps and found ... plentiful packing peanuts.
Digging deep, I fingered petite evergreen branches. I uncovered a dwarf Juniper bonsai tree – a most unexpected and unusual gift. Surprise turned to gratitude. Though I know very little about bonsais, I’m aware it’s a fascinating art form with roots in Japan and China. The miniature trees can live for 50 or more years – and some thrive for millennia. I felt honored.
Wait. Gratitude turned to fear. Now I felt woefully ill-prepared to parent a bonsai. Skimming the enclosed instructions, I could practically hear a line shouting at me: “Bonsais are grown in pots and are totally dependent on you for their care.” Sigh.
Who was the mystery sender? I had a hunch to pursue. Carl. He picked up my call, and his kindly laugh betrayed him. “I know... it’s like giving someone a parrot,” he mused. Do you think?!
Unexpected Friendship
Rather serendipitously, our paths had crossed a few months earlier through a friend of a friend. Carl was on the home stretch of an enormous project eight years in the making: a book about his grandfather – a story he pieced together through letters, journal entries, newspaper clippings, and stories his mom had told over the years. Most seventy-somethings would be intimidated to attempt such a project. Not Carl. A child at heart, he takes on life as a daring adventure. My small role was two-fold: fresh eyes to proofread – and a newcomer to cheer Carl over the finish line. I helped reignite his faith and fire to get the book to press.
I immensely appreciated what he was about to achieve. At the start, Carl had a big, hairy, ambitious seed of an idea. He knew nearly nothing about what it would take to write and publish a book. Somehow he figured it out, one step at a time. Along the way, he found people to learn from and lend their expertise. He turned obstacles into opportunities -- and saw it through. Now he holds a 200-page, hard cover tribute to his grandfather’s venturesome life. An extraordinary accomplishment.
Symbolically, Carl’s gift of the bonsai returned the favor – a message, of sorts, that said “You can do this. I believe in you.” We each have that superpower: to believe in and help others grow.
What Would You – Could You – Do?
How many times have you thought “never, could I ever”... launch a side hustle or pursue a promotion at work, speak to hundreds of people, learn a foreign language, travel abroad on my own, hike the Appalachian Trail or even the Camino de Santiago... or some other big, hairy, scary goal? And then talked yourself out of it.
Too often, we aim low and set timid goals. Or we half-heartedly say “I’ll try.” instead of “I will.” Aim low = fail to grow.
So here’s a question: What would you do if you weren’t afraid?
Copy Carl: Just start. You’ll find a way – and people to cheer you on.
“Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing and being nothing.” – Denis Waitley
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